Sunday, 14 June 2009

I will keep up with blogging!!! ...and Race for Life

Blogging is a bit like making New Years resolutions - you start off all 'yea I can totally find something to blabber on about for a few paragraphs or show everyone a new piece of jewellery I made,' and then you suddenly realise you've gone months without writing so much as a full stop!

Well I am going to attempt once again to maintain my jewellery making blog (just don't come throwing stuff if I let it slide!), and thought I'd make my first new post about something unjewellery related I did today - the 5K Cancer Research Race for Life.

We took part again for the 2nd time this year...and though we weren't strictly racing, we still managed to shave 6 minutes off last time, completing the course in 50 minutes.

If you've never been to one of these events before, let me tell you that it is an enjoyable, fun day - the warm up is always a giggle, plus there are the hilarious Nivea Boys male cheerleaders to get everyone in the spirit. People all around you are wearing silly wigs, fairy wings and tutus - someone even ran today dressed as Spongebob Squarepants!! But for every smile there is the constant reminder of why we take part in the race. Everyone has a 'back sign' where they have to complete the sentence "I race for life for..." Now I did giggle at one who had written "because it's safer than doing a parachute jump!"...but most people's back signs bear the names of friends and family who have been affected by cancer.

Some are survivors...I had my mum's name on my back and she took part in the race with me, but we also carried with us the name of my mum's aunt, who I am named after, and who passed away barely a month before my mum gave birth to me. I also wore the name of someone I went to school with who passed away a few months ago - I had not seen him since college...but that did not make the news that someone I used to be in classes with every day at secondary school passed away at the age of just 23 any easier to handle. Sometimes you have to look away from the back signs - one lady I saw had a t-shirt saying she was racing in memory of a little boy whose picture was printed on the back...the years of his life read 1994 - 1997. And if that isn't a reason to don a pink t-shirt and your trainers for a stroll around a park with thousands of other women to raise money to help fight cancer, I don't know what is.